‘I Have 14 Grandchildren — What Is One More?’ Davido’s Father Breaks Silence on Paternity Claims

Dr Deji Adeleke, father of Afrobeats star David Adeleke, popularly known as Davido, has publicly addressed the long-running paternity allegations involving his son, stating that repeated DNA tests have shown that the teenage girl at the centre of the controversy is not Davido’s child.

Adeleke spoke during a press briefing on Wednesday, marking his first public engagement with the media on the issue. He said the family thoroughly investigated the claim and would have accepted the child without reservation if the tests had confirmed paternity.

The allegation involves Ayo Labinjo, an Ibadan-based woman who has claimed that she had a relationship with Davido early in his career and that this resulted in the birth of a daughter, Anu. She alleged that the singer abandoned the child. The issue resurfaced recently after a social media account believed to belong to the girl appealed to Davido to undergo another DNA test.

Davido responded last week, saying multiple DNA tests had already been conducted and that all results confirmed he is not the child’s father. His response followed an open letter allegedly written by the 12-year-old girl, who said she was being bullied at school and appealed for clarity about her paternity.

At the briefing, Dr Adeleke said the family had no intention of denying a child and had approached the matter with openness from the beginning.

Introducing himself, he said Davido is the youngest of his five children and explained that he decided to speak publicly to address recurring claims that resurface almost yearly.

He traced the issue back to 2014, when he received a package from Ibadan containing photographs of Davido and the child, a birth certificate listing “Adeleke David” as the father, and a letter from the child’s grandmother. According to him, the grandmother, a widow, requested a DNA test and stated clearly that she was not seeking marriage or financial benefit, only confirmation of paternity.

Adeleke said he immediately contacted the family and arranged a DNA test at Vedic Lifecare Hospital in Lagos, with samples sent to South Africa for analysis. He said saliva samples were taken from both Davido and the child in the presence of all parties, and that both he and the grandmother agreed to collect the results together.

The results, he said, showed a zero per cent probability that Davido is the child’s father.

He added that despite the outcome, he personally suggested conducting additional DNA tests at other centres to remove any lingering doubts and offered to cover accommodation and related expenses for the family in Lagos. According to him, multiple tests were eventually carried out, all producing the same result.

Responding to calls for the DNA reports to be made public, Adeleke said releasing such documents would be unsafe and legally unwise, noting that DNA profiles should not be exposed to the public due to security and privacy risks, especially where a minor is involved.

He stressed that the Adeleke family had no reason to reject a child, pointing out that he already has 14 grandchildren.

“If the science had said she was my granddaughter, she would have been fully accepted,” he said. “What is one more? But science is science, and the results are clear.”